Isaiah 18:7

See Isaiah 60:10-14.

woe ~ a very sad cry because there is much pain to come.
messenger ~ a person who carries a message.
Lord ~ God’s name in the Bible. In the original language, God’s names mean ‘head over all’ and ‘God always’.
grapes ~ small sweet fruit of the vine. The juice of grapes makes wine.
vine ~ plant that produces grapes.
wine ~ drink that people make from grapes.
Jerusalem ~ at the time of David and Solomon, the capital of the country called Israel. During the time of Isaiah, Jerusalem was the capital of the country called Judah.'

Isaiah: New *Heavens and a New Earth

Countries near Judah

Isaiah Chapter s 13 to 23

Gordon Churchyard

The words in brackets, […], are not in the *Hebrew Bible. They make the book easier to understand in English. Isaiah wrote his book in the *Hebrew language.

Chapter 18

v1 Ah! [There is] a country [where the] ships have wings. It is near the rivers [that are in] Cush.

v2 Its [people] are sending messages by means of people in boats. [People have] made [the boats] from papyrus (a tall plant that grows in water). They sail over the surface of the waters.

‘Go. Take a message quickly. [Go to] a nation [that is like this]:

• [Its people] are tall and they have smooth skins.

• [Everyone,] both near and distant, is afraid of its people.

• The nation is very strong.

• And rivers divide the country.

v3 [Say this to them.] Everybody that lives [in the] world, [listen to this]. And everyone that lives [on the] Earth, [listen to this]. You will see a signal on the tops of the mountains. You will hear the sound of a *trumpet.

v4 Because this [is what] the *LORD said to me. ‘I will watch quietly from my place. I will be as quiet as the heat that shines from the sun. [I will be like] a mist that rises in the heat. [The heat comes] at the time [when people gather their] harvest.’

v5 Then, before the harvest, [the *LORD] will cut off the new shoots (small new branches). [He will do that] with a knife [that people use] to *prune. He will cut off the branches that spread. Then he will take them away. [He will do that] after the flowers have gone. But [he will do it] before the fruit is ready to pick.

v6 [He] will leave all [the branches] for the birds that hunt prey (their food) in the mountains. And he will leave [the branches] for the wild animals on the land. The birds that hunt prey [will eat the branches] all the summer. And the wild animals will [eat] them all winter.

v7 At that time [people] will bring gifts to the *LORD of Everything. The people are tall and they have smooth skins. Everyone, both near and distant, is afraid of those people. Their nation is very strong, and rivers divide their country.

[They will come] to a [special] place, the mountain called Zion (Jerusalem). The name of the *LORD of Everything is there.

Notes

Verse 1 ‘Ships have wings’ is one possible translation. The ‘wings’ of a ship are its sails. Other Bible students translate it like this. ‘Insects make a noise with their wings.’ Such insects could be flies, like the fly called the ‘tsetse’. A bite from a tsetse fly gives to people a dangerous disease called ‘sleeping sickness’. The *Hebrew word for ‘insects make a noise’ (or ‘ships’) is ‘tsiltsal’. Some people think that it is like the word ‘tsetse’. 2700 years ago there were two places called Cush. One was near Ethiopia and the other one was near Iraq. Most Bible students think that here it is the one near Ethiopia. But we cannot be certain about that.

Verse 2 ‘Papyrus’ is the name of a plant. It grows in water or it grows near water. People at that time used it to make paper. They also made boats from papyrus. Those boats were strong enough to sail on the Nile river in Egypt. Some Bible students translate ‘surface of the waters’ like this. They translate it as ‘on the Sea (Mediterranean Sea)’. That is the sea between Egypt and Judah. Egypt is in Africa and Judah is in Asia. The people that carry the messages are probably going to Jerusalem. Jerusalem city was the capital of Judah. Isaiah does not say where those people are going. But when they arrive, he tells them to go to a strong nation. We do not know whether he meant:

• Go back home to Cush, or

• Go further to Assyria, or
• Go somewhere else.

We do not even know to whom Isaiah is speaking. Perhaps it is the people from Cush (Ethiopia or Iraq) that brought messages. Perhaps it is some people that live in Jerusalem.

Isaiah chapter 18 may be part of the poem in Isaiah chapter 17. If so, the army from Assyria has already destroyed Israel and Syria. Then, Isaiah is saying that Judah’s soldiers must not go together with Cush’s army to fight against Assyria’s army. The people with messages must go home to Cush. Or they must go to Assyria, to complain directly to Assyria. However, some Bible students think that Isaiah chapter 18 links instead with Isaiah chapter 19. Isaiah chapter 19 is about Egypt. But in both those cases, what Isaiah says is the same (verses 3-6). It is this. ‘Wait until God himself does something. Do not help each other to fight against Assyria.’

Verse 3 Isaiah’s message to the people from Cush was this. Wait until you see a signal on the mountains. Wait until you hear the sound of the trumpet (instrument). Those things will tell you that war has started. For us, a ‘trumpet’ is a musical instrument. At the time when Isaiah lived, it was the horn of an animal. A ‘horn’ grows on the head of some animals. Examples of animals with horns are cows and goats. People cut the horn off the animal. They blew into the horn to make a loud noise. The noise called people to war, or it warned them about danger.

Verse 4 See the note about Isaiah 17:3 for ‘*LORD’. Both heat and water (mist) make plants grow until people harvest them. The *LORD was watching quietly for the signals that would show war (verse 3). Then he would do something, as in verse 5. By means of this description, Isaiah suggests that everyone should do the same. They should wait for God to do something!

Verse 5 The new ‘shoots’ are small new branches at the point where the plant is growing further. The knife is a special knife that people used to ‘prune’ (cut off parts of) a bush or tree. God will do this to the strong nation that fights against other nations. He will cut off their branches. That is, he will destroy (defeat) them. But he will wait for the right time to do it.

Verse 6 ‘Prey’ means smaller birds (and animals) that the bird catches to eat. Some such birds eat dead bodies. The description changes from harvest to wild animals and birds. Those wild animals and birds will eat the bodies of the dead soldiers.

Verse 7 The *LORD of Everything is a special name for God. Isaiah uses it often. ‘Everything’ means everything on Earth and everything in heaven. ‘At that time’ may mean when the people brought messages to Jerusalem from Cush (verse 2). But we translate verse 7 like this. ‘At that time [people] will bring gifts to the *LORD of Everything.’ So this shows to us what will happen in the future. People from other countries will bring gifts to God. They will bring them to the place where his name is. That place is Jerusalem, which is also called Zion. In many Bible students’ opinion, it will happen when Jesus returns to the Earth. It means that Isaiah chapter 18 does not just describe something that happened in the past. It also describes something that will happen in the future.

The story in Isaiah chapter 18

This is a chapter that is difficult to understand. There are two (or even more) possible stories in it.

• People from Cush send a message to Judah. They ask for help to fight against Assyria’s army. Isaiah sends them home. He says, ‘Wait until God destroys Assyria.’

• People from Cush send a message to Judah. They ask for help to fight against Egypt’s people. Isaiah sends them to Assyria to ask Assyria’s people for help. (We do know this. In about 712 *B.C., Ethiopia’s army did defeat Egypt’s army. But that would not matter if Cush here was the one near Iraq.)

Verse 7 may mean that the people from Cush brought gifts with them. They were gifts for the *LORD. But it may be about the future. In other words, they will bring gifts for the *LORD when Jesus returns to the Earth.

Something to do

1. Read through Isaiah 17:1-6 and 17:9-11 and change the past words to future words. This is how many people translate Isaiah 17:1-6 and 17:9-11.

2. Read the Book of Ruth. It is a story about a girl that *gleaned corn for herself. And she *gleaned it for her dead husband’s mother also.

3. Read the story about how 185 000 soldiers from Assyria died. It is in Isaiah 37:36-38 and 2 Kings 19:35-37. We also read there about how King Sennacherib died.

4. How many different names for God can you find in Isaiah Chapter s 17 and 18? Make a list of them. (Two examples are ‘*LORD’ and ‘*LORD of Everything’.)

5. Pray for all the nations that Isaiah mentions in these two Chapter s. They include Ethiopia (or Sudan), Egypt, Israel, Syria and Iraq. The world’s peace still depends on some countries in that list.

heavens ~ either the home of God or the skies.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.
Jews ~ people that lived in Judah (which sounds like ‘Jew-dah’) and Israel.
trumpet ~ a musical instrument. People blow into it to make a loud sound.
lord ~ master. With a capital L, it can be a name for God.
LORD ~ LORD is a special name of God. In the Hebrew language it is YAHWEH. It may mean ‘always alive’. So LORD is a sign that the Hebrew word is YAHWEH.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.
Jews ~ people that lived in Judah (which sounds like ‘Jew-dah’) and Israel.
prune ~ to cut off part of a plant in order to make the plant grow better.
glean ~ to collect fruit that the farmer did not take on purpose.